Maxwell Anderson goes on trial in Milwaukee in Sade Robinson's slaying and mutilation
Trial for the Milwaukee man accused of killing a local college student on a first date then dismembering her body is expected to get underway May 27 in a Milwaukee County courtroom.
Maxwell Anderson, 34, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, mutilation of a corpse and arson in the death in April 2024 of Sade Carleena Robinson, 19.
He has been in custody at the Milwaukee County Jail since his April 4, 2024, arrest, having failed to post a $5 million bond for his release. Anderson, however, will be permitted to wear street clothes during the trial, which is scheduled to last roughly two weeks.
Anderson has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Jury selection is expected to begin May 27.
Robinson, a student at Milwaukee Area Technical College, was last seen April 1, 2024, and reported missing April 2, 2024. That same day, a leg was found on the lakeshore in Cudahy. Additional remains and Robinson's burned-out car were found in Milwaukee in the following days.
A human arm belonging to Robinson also was recovered along the shores of Lake Michigan, near Waukegan, Illinois.
Circuit Judge Laura Crivello has asked for a pool of between 70 and 80 potential jurors to be assembled and screened during the jury selection process. Normally, 30 to 40 jurors are called to hear cases, even those involving defendants charged with serious crimes.
Attorneys in the case have said they expect jury selection to take all day May 27, and that it's likely to stretch into a second day.
Ian Vance-Curzan, who has been an assistant district attorney in Milwaukee for nine years, will prosecute the case for the state. He previously announced plans to introduce roughly 500 pieces of evidence at trial, including written reports, videos, recordings and cellphone tower data.
More than 250 names appear on the state's witness list, including dozens of police officers from various departments, civilians, DNA analysts and toxicologists.
Sheena L. Scarbrough, Robinson's mother, is also listed.
Anderson's lawyer is Anthony D. Cotton, who represented Morgan Geyser, one of the defendants in the Slender Man attempted homicide case in Waukesha County.
Cotton also was the attorney for Dominic Black, who faced weapons charge in November 2020 for illegally giving a rifle to Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old later acquitted of killing two people during protests in Kenosha earlier that year.
Given the pretrial publicity the case has gotten, it may take time to seat an impartial group of jurors, but the task won't be impossible, said Daniel D. Blinka, a professor at Marquette University's law school.
Prosecutors and lawyers for Anderson's defense will be allowed to ask potential jurors questions before testimony begins — during a process known as voir dire — to determine any of them harbor preconceived biases about Anderson or the nature of the case.
Many of the questions already have been agreed to by the lawyers and the judge. Among them will whether they've heard anything about the case ahead of jury selection.
Blinka noted the success of selecting juries for the high-profile criminal cases for Darrell Brooks in the Waukesha Christmas parade tragedy and for Kyle Rittenhouse, who was acquitted in 2021 of shooting three men — two fatally — during protests in Kenosha.
"Those courts were able to draw jurors, even with the media attention they received. At the end of the day, that the same thing will be true in this case," he said. "It may not be fast, but I expect they can do it. And if it takes a week or 10 days ... that's a defendant's constitutional right."
This is a developing story and will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Maxwell Anderson goes on trial in Milwaukee in Sade Robinson's death
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